Waiting for Isabel
Hurricane Isabel is being tracked from space & Satellite images show it approaching the East Coast of the United States
Residents and business owners are battening down the hatches Some are leaving defiant messages for Hurricane Isabel...
... before heading inland to avoid the worst of the storm
Warships and merchant vessels are leaving port to ride out the storm at sea
But for some, the approach of Hurricane Isabel is an opportunity not to be missed
>>September 18, 2003 at 4:35:24 PM GMT+8
2003 年 9 月 17 日 星期三 【晴】
Hurricane Isabel 2003 - Latest News
updated 0930GMT 18 September
next update 16000GMT 18 September
NASA satellite image
The latest details:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect from Cape Fear northward to the North Carolina / Virginia state line, along the Atlantic coast of Virginia to Chincoteague and northward over Chesapeke Bay to Smith Point, meaning that hurricane conditions are possible within 24 hours.
0900GMT on 18th
The hurricane centre was located near 33.1N 74.7W, tracking northwest at 14mph. Winds are estimated at 100mph (Category 2 on the Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity) with gusts of 125mph.
Forecast Track
Current estimates suggest that Cape Fear in North Carolina is in the direct line of fire, with Isabel remaining a category 2 hurricane and likely to make landfall Thursday afternoon.
Isabel's progress
0300GMT on 18th
The hurricane centre was located near 31.9N 73.9W, tracking north-northwest at 13mph. Winds are estimated at 100mph (Category 2) with gusts of 125mph.
1500GMT on 17th
Isabel was located near 30.0N 72.6W, tracking north-northwest at 13mph. Winds are estimated at 115mph (Category 2) with gusts of 130mph.
0900GMT on 17th
The hurricane centre was located near 29.4N 72.2W, tracking north-northwest at 8mph. Winds are estimated at 115mph (Category 2) with gusts of 130mph.
0300GMT on 17th
The centre of Isabel was located near 28.5N 71.7W, tracking north-northwest at 7mph. Winds are estimated at 115mph (Category 2) with gusts of 130mph.
1600GMT on 16th
Isabel was located near 27.4N 71.2W heading north-northwest at 7mph. Winds are estimated at 100mph (Category 2) with gusts of 125mph.
0900GMT on 16th
Isabel was located near 26.6N 70.7W (about 700 miles south of Cape Hatteras) heading north west towards the eastern coast at 7mph. Winds were estimated at 120mph (Category 3) with gusts nearing 140mph.
Historical Facts
Hurricane Isabel is the first major hurricane to threaten this section of the eastern seaboard since 1999 when Hurricane Floyd, a category 2 hurricane, caused $4.5 billion damage and 56 deaths. Floyd is currently the 3rd costliest hurricane in US history.
Dyke criticises Gilligan e-mails
BBC chief Greg Dyke says journalist Andrew Gilligan's e-mails to an MP investigating the Iraq dossier row were "not acceptable".
Word from MI6
Hutton Inquiry gets glimpse into the world of the spymaster
Faceless witness lets imagination race By Mark Davies
BBC News Online political reporter at the Hutton inquiry
It was tempting to imagine Sir Richard Dearlove speaking to the Hutton Inquiry while sitting in a palatial office in MI6's HQ surrounded by old masters and a bottle of sherry.
The MI6 chief had the right voice for the image of the leader of a team of James Bonds: suave, upper-crust and controlled. And with his words echoing around the court room via audiolink, the scene had sufficient intrigue to accompany the contribution from one of the country's top spymasters
No Iraq handover rush, says US
Mr Powell was vague on the timetable for transferring power
The US does not want to stay in Iraq a day longer than necessary but will not leave until an Iraqi constitution and administration are properly in place, Secretary of State Colin Powell has said.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell has visited the site of one of Saddam Hussein's worst atrocities, at the end of a two-day visit to Iraq.
Mr Powell took part in the opening of a memorial and a museum in the northern town of Halabja, where in 1988 about 5,000 Iraqi Kurds were gassed in a single day by the former regime.
Mr Powell says the US will not a rush a handover of power
E.coli infects nine children
The school has been closed until further notice
Nine children have been diagnosed with the potentially fatal E.coli infection at a nursery school in Antrim.
E.coli is a serious form of food poisoning which has a range of symptoms including vomiting and diarrhoea.
>>September 15, 2003 at 5:34:09 PM GMT+8
2003 年 9 月 15 日 星期一 【陰】
Last Updated: Monday, 15 September, 2003, 16:53 GMT 17:53 UK
Saudi jail blaze kills inmates
A fire has swept through Saudi Arabia's biggest prison, killing and injuring scores of inmates, prison officials say.
At least 67 prisoners have been killed and another 20 inmates and three guards injured, the director-general of the prison service has said.
The blaze at the Al-Hair prison, in the capital Riyadh broke out around midday (0900 GMT).
Firefighters and rescue workers are said to have "intervened immediately", but officials say the fire is still burning.
Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has ordered an inquiry into the cause of the blaze.
Suspected militants
It is not known whether the prison housed any of the more than 200 Islamic militants rounded up in recent months as part of a crackdown on supporters of Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
The arrests came in the wake of the triple suicide bomb attacks against Western targets in Riyadh in May, which killed 35 people, including nine bombers.
Mohamed al-Ghamdi, a journalist with the Riyadh Daily, told the BBC he believed that since the prison is the largest in the kingdom it is likely that at least some of those arrested on suspicion of connection with al-Qaeda would be inside.
He said that the prison was modern and known for the high standards of it facilities and that nothing of this nature had happened there in the past.
唔知點解今日 會咁鬼死大雨 香港同曼谷都落大雨
就連成個世界o既氣氛都唔好 ...
Sweden turns back on euro
Sweden says a clear no to Europe's currency, in a vote that will boost the anti-euro lobby in the UK and Denmark.
The final result shows 56% voting against the euro, with only 42% in favour, on a high turnout of 81%. (Undecided ballots: 2%)
The Swedish Prime Minister, Goran Persson - who had campaigned for a Yes vote - said the result was a clear victory for opponents of Swedish Euro-membership.
World trade talks collapse
(World leaders shut their ears to the poor, say protesters)
The world trade talks in Mexico have collapsed amid serious differences between the rich and poor nations. 尋日新聞見到樂施會o既梁佩鳳 有傳下屆會議會在香港舉行?!
Israel 'considers killing Arafat'
Israel's agreement to "remove" Mr Arafat has attracted condemnation
The Israeli Government does not exclude killing Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, a cabinet minister has said. 究竟呢個係咩世界呀? ~.~
好累 好熱 ...
... before heading inland to avoid the worst of the storm
Warships and merchant vessels are leaving port to ride out the storm at sea
But for some, the approach of Hurricane Isabel is an opportunity not to be missed
Word from MI6
Sweden turns back on euro
World trade talks collapse
哨牙大粒墨癦袁佩婷